


Tiramisu

by CatrinaSL



Series: Three Things [98]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Claire Temple Deserves Better, Claire Temple is So Done, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fakeout Makeout, Protective Steve Rogers, Rome - Freeform, SHIELD, Secret Organization, Superheroes Ruin Everything, Three Things, Vacation, tiramisù
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-26
Updated: 2018-02-26
Packaged: 2019-03-24 09:43:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13808583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatrinaSL/pseuds/CatrinaSL
Summary: Apparently superheroes ruining everything is just Claire's life now.





	Tiramisu

**Author's Note:**

  * For [uruvielnumenesse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/uruvielnumenesse/gifts).



> uruvielnumenesse prompted Secret Organization, Shield, Rome.
> 
> Thanks to thestanceyg for her beta services!

The first time Claire Temple saw Steve Rogers, he ruined her lunch.

"Sorry! Sorry!" he called as he dashed off, leaving a shield-shaped dent in the table where he’d fallen, along with an elbow-shaped dent in her dessert.

Claire had long since resigned herself to the fact that superheroes ruining everything was just her life now, but she had hoped that by coming to Rome, she was leaving them behind in New York. All she needed was a vacation, and then it was back to pulling random dudes out of dumpsters and chasing ninjas, whatever her nights off called for.

Captain America smashing through a sidewalk cafe off Piazza di Spagna was something she hadn't expected. 

The second time Claire Temple saw Steve Rogers, he ruined her dress.

The motorcycle zoomed past without an apology, but the shield on his back kind of stood out. Buying a new dress had been a treat, and she had actually thought, "I'll wear it out! What's the worst that could happen?"

Never again.

The third time Claire Temple saw Steve Rogers, he ruined her plans.

Given her apparent superhero-magnetism, she had determined to spend the evening in her room, but she spotted him in the lobby of her hotel, in street clothes instead of his star spangled spandex for once.

"Are you  _ following _ me?" she demanded.

He looked surprised to see her, which answered her question. "I promise I'm not," he replied, jumping to his feet and smiling nervously at her. "I’m sorry I accidentally fell on you the other day."

" _ And _ covered me in a mud puddle last night," she reminded him.

"That was... ? About that. I would have stopped to apologize, but..." He laughed, glancing carefully behind her before stepping a little closer, and suddenly Claire got the feeling that he wasn't fully invested in the conversation.

"You got somewhere to be?" she asked, turning her head to see what was so interesting.

"Don't," he said quickly. "I... I'm actually doing some surveillance, and I was wondering if you could help me out."

"After you squished my tiramisu and drenched my dress?"

He leaned closer, and Claire backed away a little. He'd still managed to blot two bright spots in her vacation, no matter how handsome he was.

"I'm sort of after a secret organization. They have a base in the city somewhere," he whispered. "The men on the other side of the lobby were getting suspicious of me sitting here, but now that you're here, I'm just a guy having a fight with his girlfriend."

"Oh, no. You're not dragging me into this." She turned away, but Steve grabbed her hand.

"Wait, Claire, please—" he began.

She whirled, furious. How did he suddenly know her name? "Elevator," she growled. "Now."

Claire allowed Steve to lace their fingers together as she dragged him across the lobby, cementing the 'guy having a fight with his girlfriend' cover. She wasn't sure about playing the girlfriend, but she was absolutely ready to fight.

Unfortunately, the elevator was slow, and when Steve glanced behind her to the lobby, he cleared his throat nervously and moved a little closer to her, reaching up to brush his fingers across her cheek.

"Looks like they're following us," he whispered.

" _ How do you know my name _ ," Claire hissed back.

"Colleen," he told her, and smiled. Claire knew it was fake, but if she was his real girlfriend, the dimple would have gone a long way to make up for whatever it was she was supposed to be angry with him for.

"Colleen," Claire repeated.

Steve nodded and stepped even closer as two men in dark suits appeared in Claire's eye line, looking as though they were merely waiting for the elevators, just like she and Steve were.

"She happened to be at the mission briefing," he murmured against her hair. "She asked me to make sure you had a nice vacation and didn't get mixed up in anything that would disturb your relaxation."

The elevator doors opened. "How's that working out?" Claire asked, annoyed, as both Steve and the probably bad guys followed her into the elevator.

"I'm sorry," Steve said to Claire, then glanced apologetically at the men sharing the elevator with them. Claire mashed the button for her floor, noticing that neither of the men moved to choose a different one.

She maintained her annoyed air as Steve moved in close again. "It's not my fault," he whispered, his lips brushing her ear. "I didn't know this was your hotel."

Claire scowled and put her arms around Steve's neck, yanking him down so she could clarify something: " _ Are you saying your stupid secret organization is headquartered here _ ?!"

Steve's hands on her hips were a side effect she hadn't anticipated. She didn't hate it.

"I'm sorry," he said again, still quiet, but loud enough for the vacation-ruining bad guys to hear.

She sighed, slumping a little in his arms. "I guess this is just my life now."

"Hey, it's okay," Steve told her. He reached up to tuck some hair behind her ear.

"It's really not," Claire said, even though the earnest look on his face was fairly convincing.

"Do you forgive me, though?"

She sighed. "I guess so."

Claire hadn't planned on kissing Steve Rogers in an elevator that night, bad guys or no bad guys, but there she was.

It was almost good enough to make up for the tiramisu.

One of the men cleared his throat, and Claire noticed that the elevator had stopped.

Steve nodded to the men as he slipped his arm around Claire's waist and guided her out into the hallway. 

"Guess you're staying over," Claire murmured as she got out her key card. Steve was leaning on the wall, smiling at her, but she could tell he was  _ really _ trying to see which door the bad guys were headed for.

"Not necessary," he said as soon as she got the door open. "I know where they are now; I can just order the team to move in. Shouldn't take more than a couple of hours, and you can get back to your vacation without having to worry about bad guys."

"Or good guys," Claire added.

Steve laughed. "Thanks for playing along. I wouldn't have been able to find them without you."

"Oh, uh... you're welcome."

"I hope this didn't disrupt your evening too much."

"A little, maybe," Claire admitted. "I was going to take a bath, maybe order some dessert later."

"Don't let me stop you," Steve said. "I just need to make some phone calls, and then I'll let myself out."

Claire nodded. "Well, it was nice... meeting you, Steve."

"Maybe we'll see each other again in New York," he said, with a smile on his face that may have been hopeful.

"Maybe we will," Claire agreed, as she headed for the bathroom.

She locked the door behind her, and when she opened it later that evening, Steve was gone.

The fourth time Claire Temple saw Steve Rogers, he managed not to ruin anything.

It was by chance that they ran into each other at the coffee shop she frequented on her days off; the surprised and pleased look on his face was the same as the one on hers.

"How was the rest of your trip?" he asked.

"Pretty uneventful," Claire replied with a smile. "Except for the fact that one evening there was some kind of drug bust or something down the hall from my room."

"Is that right?" Steve asked. 

Claire nodded. "The hotel gave me a voucher for two free nights, so I'm thinking of going to Rome again this fall."

Steve smiled at her. "Want some company?"

"Well," Claire laughed. "Why don't you buy me some tiramisu first and we'll see how things go?"

**Author's Note:**

> Claire Temple deserves more.
> 
> [Prompt a Three Things fic!](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf7S2MbkK0CxVHMG3kF8CD6fYqD0zwY-J6MqLb21nmFyRpE4w/viewform)
> 
> [Reblog on tumblr](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com/post/171314508598/tiramisu)
> 
> Tumblr: [catrinasl](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com)
> 
> Twitter: [@Catrina_SL](http://twitter.com/Catrina_SL)


End file.
